East Meadow School District Receives Increase in State Aid

The East Meadow School District is receiving a bump in state for the upcoming school year.

"The amount of aid that the East Meadow School District is getting for next year is up about four percent from the previous year," Assemblyman Thomas McKevitt, R-East Meadow, told Patch.

The district will receive $36,446,202 for the 2012-13 school year, which is a bump of more than $1.6 million from last year's aid of $34,804,073. However, more than $1.8 million is allocated to State Building Aid, which cannot be used for general instruction.

"It’s for past projects that you have bonds for," McKevitt said. "It can’t go towards general instruction. It goes more towards physical costs."

McKevitt also acknowledged that, despite the increase, it's going to be a tough year for school districts to budget with the going into effect for the upcoming school year. Under the cap, property tax increases will be limited to 2 percent or the rate of inflation, whichever is less. Municipalities, such as school districts, could override the cap with 60 percent of voters participating in an election.

"It's going to be a tough year for local districts," McKevitt added. "They are going to need to be very careful to stay within their numbers."

Despite several attempts, East Meadow School District officials did not respond to requests for comment.

How do you think the tax cap will affect the East Meadow School District? Tell us in the comments.